UK supermarkets unveil festive updates

-

The week just gone has seen markets continue their early July bounce, emboldened by a speech from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke. With Chinese GDP looming on Monday, can they continue the rally?

The week saw markets continue their early July bounce, emboldened by a speech from Fed chairman Ben Bernanke. With Chinese GDP looming on Monday, can they continue the rally?

Today's update from Standard Chartered is a good return to form for the bank, which has struggled under the weight of regulatory issues. With the British government looking to sell some of its Lloyds state, and Basel III regulation back on the agenda, the times ahead look more interesting for the banking sector.

The equity rally has come to a juddering halt, beset by worries over Fed tapering of QE and a weak Chinese manufacturing reading. In the week ahead we will have more news from the Bank of Japan plus unemployment data from the eurozone.

After a week of steady gains, the FTSE is looking a bit uncertain at present. Bid talk for Severn Trent and a Morrisons/Ocado tie-up were the major events. In the week ahead we will see central bank minutes plus earnings from Vodafone and Burberry.

Apple's earnings and UK GDP were the highlights of the week, but next week sees an ECB meeting at which a rate cut is on the cards, along with US non-farm payrolls and earnings from Imperial Tobacco.

Supermarket titan Tesco has endured a difficult year, and has finally taken the decision to withdraw from the US. Although it is also struggling with other overseas ventures, it is pressing ahead with new initiatives in the UK that may help boost sales.

Although ahead of expectations, Marks & Spencer's quarter was not entirely a bed of roses. Food sales were up but overall sales still dropped for yet another quarter.

From the fiscal cliff to the Cypriot bailout, alongside booming equity markets, we look at what has grabbed the attention of traders and market analysts.